Texas Senate has a history of record-breaking filibusters

As Senate Democrats who oppose abortion legislation gauge their arsenal to fight the measure, they might draw some heart from the record-setting, 43-hour 1977 filibuster by former Sen. Bill Meier.

Check out this report from earlier this year by the Texas Tribune’s Alana Rocha, which mentions it in the context of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster and includes a clip on the item about the Capitol press corps’ very own Dave Montgomery.

“The minute he sat down, the bill passed,” said Secretary of the Senate Patsy Spaw. The bill involved records of workplace injury claims — Meier saw it as an attack on open records, the Tribune reported.

But it did set a new world record, according to the AP — breaking one set by another Texas senator. There have been more than 100 filibusters identifed by the Legislative Reference Library.

And Democrats on Monday could draw a little hope from delays that have as yet kept the measure from being brought up. Every minute of delay is an advantage for those who oppose the measure, with the session due to end Tuesday.